TORONTO — Jennifer Beals is in hot water for reportedly leaving her dog in a hot car.

Global News in Vancouver filmed the Golden Globe-nominated “Flashdance” star returning to her Ford Escape with her large dog inside and the window cracked a few inches.

As she got back to her vehicle, a passerby confronted her and the 51-year-old actress replied: “It’s fine. Thank you.”

She added that in the Vancouver neighbourhood of Dunbar, “it is fine.”

The stranger informed Beals that he would be informing the authorities regardless.

The “L Word” star is married to Canadian Ken Dixon.

She recently shot the TNT series “Proof” in Vancouver, and reportedly has upcoming roles in the drama “Manhattan Nocturne” alongside Yvonne Strahovski and Adrien Brody, and the Steve Anderson thriller “The White Orchid.”

So, what triggered the vicious online backlash against a London couple?

Kyle O’Neill, 26, and Gabrielle Penney, 30, locked their 12-week-old puppy in their apartment bathroom while they went on a two-week vacation. Both pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges last week and were given six months probation, fined $400 and slapped with a 10-year ban on owning or caring for animals.

But that wasn’t enough for Internet vigilantes, who posted a photo of O’Neill and Penney on Facebook, asking users to share and shame the pair.

By Sunday, it had been shared by more than 11,000 people.

Welcome to online shaming, where wrong-doing that once might have escaped widespread public notice can suddenly go viral or hang over people like a digital Sword of Damocles, even costing them their jobs.

“I just think that the public shaming is a way to make this something that they’re going to live with,” said Jenalyn Cundy-Jones, the London woman who first posted the photo of O’Neill and Penney to Facebook on Friday night.

“I’m sure they’re thinking they could pay this fine and it would be behind them,” she said.

Neither O’Neill nor Penney could be reached for comment Sunday.

A barrage of angry messages — many of them profanity-laced — were posted on Penney’s Facebook profile before the account was deleted over the weekend. O’Neill’s account also appears to have been deleted. One tech analyst said digital technology emboldens the judgmental.

“People say things on social media that they would never say or do in real life,” said Carmi Levy of London. “It’s another example of the dark side of social media.”

The backlash stems from Jan. 6, when a superintendent at a south London apartment received calls about noises coming from a unit.

HandoutThe puppy is recovering well after its ordeal and has found a new family.

Two days later, investigators armed with a search warrant went into the apartment and found a female Chihuahua mix puppy locked in the bathroom, said the London Humane Society. The owners had left food and a water dish for the animal.

“I think it struck a chord because they went on holidays,” said Humane Society executive director Judy Foster, adding her agency follows animal abuse cases through the courts to show the public there are consequences.

“The secondary outcome may become more significant than the court outcome,” Foster said of the online backlash the pair now face.

In the United States, some victims of online shaming have been fired from their jobs and treated as pariahs by friends and family.

In one of the most high-profile U.S. cases, public relations director Justine Sacco tweeted: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” before boarding a flight to South Africa.

Sacco lost her job, received death threats, couldn’t find a boyfriend and was hounded by the media.

The dog is doing wonderfully well in its new home … and it’s having a wonderful life so we’re thrilled about that

And there seems to be no predicting what cases will evoke the wrath of Internet users. Animal abusers and others caught saying racist or sexist things often get flamed online, while killers and white-collar criminals rarely get shamed.

“The relative seriousness of the case has little correlation to its ultimate popularity in social media,” Levy said. “There’s almost no rhyme or reason as to what will make something go viral.”

While Cundy-Jones said she doesn’t condone personal attacks on the pair, she sympathizes with the public outrage.

“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support by people who are disgusted by this,” she said, adding she hopes the case will deter pet owners who think it’s acceptable to go away and leave animals unattended.

Foster says the dog — renamed Peanut — has been adopted by new owners.

“The dog is doing wonderfully well in its new home … and it’s having a wonderful life so we’re thrilled about that.”

SYDNEY, Australia — Johnny Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, has been charged with illegally bringing the couple’s dogs to Australia in an incident that captured global attention after the nation’s agriculture minister angrily ordered the pooches to get out of the country or face death.

Heard was charged this week with two counts of illegally importing Pistol and Boo into Australia and one count of producing a false document, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions said on Thursday.

The importation charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars (CAD$97,645). The false document charge, which relates to information on an incoming passenger card, carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of AU$10,200 (CAD$9,764).

If we start letting movie stars — even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody?

Heard was issued a summons to appear in a Queensland court on Sept. 7. Her lawyers could petition the court to appear on her behalf, but given the seriousness of the charge, it’s likely she’ll need to appear in person, particularly if she is in Australia at that time, said Bill Potts, a criminal defence attorney based in the Queensland capital, Brisbane.

The doggie debacle began in May, after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce accused Depp, 52, of smuggling the couple’s Yorkshire terriers aboard his private jet when he returned to Australia to resume filming of the fifth movie in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.

Australia has strict quarantine regulations to prevent diseases such as rabies from spreading to its shores. Bringing pets into the country involves applying for a permit and quarantine on arrival of at least 10 days.

“If we start letting movie stars — even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice — to come into our nation (with pets), then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody?” Joyce said at the time. “It’s time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States.”

Officials gave Depp and Heard 72 hours to send Pistol and Boo back to the U.S., warning that if they weren’t, the dogs would be euthanized. A Department of Agriculture officer later escorted the tiny terriers from the couple’s mansion on Queensland’s Gold Coast to the airport, where the dogs boarded a flight to the U.S. just hours before the deadline.

Joyce’s comments were parodied worldwide, prompted a petition to save Pistol and Boo and sparked the social media hashtag #WarOnTerrier.

“The law is the same for everybody,” he told reporters in the western city of Perth. “There is no preferential treatment here. You come into our nation, you have to abide biosecurity protocols.”

The prosecutor’s office would not answer questions about why Depp wasn’t charged, citing the ongoing nature of the case. The Department of Agriculture, which conducted the investigation, also declined to comment, saying the decision on charges was up to prosecutors.

Even if convicted, legal expert Potts doubts Heard will be facing a lengthy jail term.

“The seriousness of the offence is not whether two little puppies — who look like they could give you a nasty nip on the ankle — are dreadful animals, it’s about the risk to biosecurity,” Potts said. “Barnaby Joyce, the minister, told them in colorful language to bugger off — they did. Was there a risk? Potentially, but not actually. And I’m sure the court will take all of those things into account.”

In an interview last month, Heard said she and Depp planned to avoid Australia as much as possible in the future “thanks to certain politicians there.”

“I guess everyone tries to go for their 15 minutes, including some government officials,” the 29-year-old actress told Australia’s Channel 7.

A representative for Depp did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Heard’s Los Angeles-based representative also did not immediately respond to an email sent after business hours.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/johnny-depps-wife-charged-with-illegally-bringing-dogs-into-australia-after-official-threatens-to-euthanize-them/feed0std542625925This dog walked 35 miles just to fall down at its sleeping owner’s door in Californiahttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/this-dog-walked-35-miles-just-to-fall-down-at-its-sleeping-owners-door-in-california
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CARLSBAD, Calif. — A lost dog made her way 35 miles (over 56 kilometres) home to San Diego to find her owner asleep in bed.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Kris Anderson was told she should give up on finding her lost dog, Georgia, after she took off over a hill June 27 at the Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve near the city. Anderson and her daughter drove to the preserve and home to Carlsbad every day in hopes of finding the 8-year-old Shar Pei mix.

How should you pet your cat? It’s a question that’s stumped pet owners for centuries, but science now has an answer. Here’s what a team of researchers from the University of Lincoln in the U.K. found, in graphical form:

Illustration for The Washington Post by Sadie DingfelderWhere to pet a cat.

Yes, that’s right. Cats do not like being stroked at the base of their tail — at least, that was the case for most of the 54 cats in this study, and another, smaller study on the topic. That’s sort of a cat erogenous zone, and petting may overstimulate it, the researchers posit.

The cats’ favourite place to be petted: Their faces, especially around their lips, chins and cheeks, where they have scent glands. (The researchers did not attempt to pet the cats on their bellies, presumably because they didn’t want to be maimed.)

Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to matter what order you pet the parts of your cat. That suggests that cats see petting as akin to grooming, which happens haphazardly between two friendly cats, rather than allo-rubbing, which always goes from tip to tail.

In the normal course of events, you would not find the small community of Membertou, a branch of the greater tribal group of the Mi’kmaw nation, located within its tribal district of Cape Breton, making news that will reverberate in every corner of North America.

But it just did. Moreover, I am probably the only journalist in Canada on whose radar the news showed up with a great, resounding ping.

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The news, via the Cape Breton Post, is that the Membertou pit bull ban, instituted five years ago, is working. In 2009, after many other close calls, a pit bull – suddenly and unprovoked, which is typical of pit bull type dogs – attacked an elder and her grandchild on Membertou’s main street, at which point the band council sought a change in the 1997 animal control bylaw to instate what is known as BSL – breed selective legislation – to exclude pit bulls from the area.

Today the “grandfathered” resident pit bulls are all gone and, even though many stray dogs run loose in Membertou, there have been no further incidents of unprovoked attacks by dogs on humans, reports Membertou senior adviser Dan Christmas.

You may well ask, how is this news that will “reverberate” elsewhere? Well, if you followed pit bull politics as I do, you would know that the battle to claim the narrative high ground on pit bulls, between those who like me see the pit bull as a public safety hazard requiring strict regulation, and those who claim the pit bull is a honey of a dog and its well-known depredations all the fault of irresponsible ownership, is keenly fought in every jurisdiction in the U.S. and in a quieter way all over Canada.

Pit bull advocates are particularly incensed when towns and cities impose bans on their beloved breed, so they go to extraordinary lengths to prevent them, or to repeal them.

Ontario MPP Cheri Di Novo (NDP), for example, best known for her passionate advocacy for the rights of gays, lesbians and the transgendered, is also (shamefully, in my opinion) a passionate advocate for pit bulls. She has worked very hard to try to get a private member’s bill passed that would repeal Ontario’s 2005 pit bull ban: the one that has been proven to significantly reduce maulings, especially of children, since it was introduced.

The battle is extremely heated and can become vicious – to the point that survivors of pit bull attacks or the loved ones of those killed by pit bulls are subjected to harassment campaigns when they speak out about the dangers this cluster of fighting dogs poses to public safety.

The epidemiological and medical facts favour one side, emotion and the cultural popularity of identity victimhood the other.

Facts: The pit bull type dog, once recognized as the inherently high-risk dog it was bred to be, and confined to the dog fighting ring and the yards of low-lifes, has proliferated in recent decades. They are now the second most popular breed in the U.S. (Labrador retrievers by far the most popular). They used to be counted in the hundreds. Now there are almost four million of them.

In my youth, people used to think the Doberman Pinscher was a dangerous dog. But from 1955 to 2015, Dobermans have killed only 11 people. That is about as many as pit bulls kill in any given four-month period. Seventy percent of dogbite-related fatalities and extreme damage to humans are inflicted by pit bull type dogs, who represent four percent of the breed population. Surgeons testify to the especially horrific damage their peculiar biting method – hold and rend – does to human flesh and bone. Pit bulls are also responsible for the deaths of virtually 100% of domestic animals (including cows and horses) killed by canines.

The emotional-based narrative goes like this: Poor pit bulls. They are discriminated against because they look mean. They have a bad reputation because they are used for fighting (which by sheer coincidence they are always the ones chosen for, as opposed to, say, Beagles). Bad people make them fight. Any dog can be vicious if the owner isn’t responsible and doesn’t train them properly. It is racism to blame a whole breed for the bad actions of a few. The pit bull is misunderstood and a victim.

And thus any time a ban on pit bulls is imposed, it is a great defeat for the pit bull advocacy movement. And so Membertou is now a name that will – from the point of view of people like me, who think people like Cheri Di Novo are not only irrational and willfully blind to genetic reality, they are enablers of unnecessary suffering – resonate in the hall of heroes my side of the battle honours for communities who do the right thing for their people.

This is an exceptional boutique resort, relaxed, contemporary and directly on a tiny bay of the Atlantic with a full beach. It has a comprehensive spa, a popular bar and a new chef. It’s serene, sociable and sophisticated, but also kid-friendly and very pet-friendly.

The gorgeous oceanfront Sea Glass dining room and the fireplace lounge have been overhauled with new lighting, carpets, artwork — and most importantly, a new chef.

Inn by the SeaInn by the Sea, on the southern tip of Portland, Maine, is a luxurious hotel and spa on the Atlantic shore.

Executive chef Steve Sicinski worked most recently at Topnotch Resort & Spa in Vermont and previously at the upscale spa Mii Amo in Arizona. He is creating delish menus featuring local lobster, bone-in filet mignon and crispy duck breast, sea scallops and monkfish.

The social calendar includes jazz concerts on the lawn (early evenings, July 5, Aug. 9 and Sept. 7). Signature drinks include the blueberry martini and the S’moretini for kids. Lobster Bakes will feature traditional Maine potato cakes, homemade sausages, corn chowder with Lobster from Alewives Farm next door

Inn by the Sea is the most pet-friendly hotel I know. Fanny Turley Groffiths, my fair-weather hiking pal who just happens to be a pretty golden Lab, loves the Doggie Happy Hour and L.L. Bean dog blankets.

And during the last two weeks of October, the beachfront pool is closed to people and open for pets for a watery romp. Fanny has already made her reservation, looking forward to bites of Meat Roaf, Bird Dog and Canine Ice Cream.

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/life/travel/portlands-inn-by-the-sea-welcomes-you-and-your-dog/feed0stdPet-friendly Inn by the Sea, on the southern tip of Portland, Maine, has Doggie Happy Hour and a menu of Meat Roaf, Bird Dog and Canine Ice Cream.Inn by the SeaWe really do love dogs as if they’re our furry children and the feeling is mutual, according to hormone studyhttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/we-really-do-love-dogs-as-if-theyre-our-furry-children-and-the-feeling-is-mutual-according-to-hormone-study
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Dog owners love their pets in the same way as they do their children, and the feeling is mutual, scientists have found.

Researchers found that the levels of the hormone oxytocin increases in both human and canine brains when a dog is gazing at its owner.

Oxytocin is known to play a strong role in triggering feelings of unconditional love and protection when parents and children look into each other’s eyes or embrace.

Jenelle Schneider/PNG

The findings suggest owners love their pets in the same way as family members, and dogs return their devoted affection.

“These results suggest that humans may feel affection for their companion dogs similar to that felt toward human family members,” said Dr Miho Nagasawa, from the department of animal science at Azabu University in Sagamihara, Japan.

MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty ImagesA Samoyed puppy waits with its owner in a park as Beijing enjoys a pollution free spring day on April 18, 2013.

“Oxytocin plays a primary role in regulating social bonding between mother and infants and between sexual partners.”

The researchers from the University of Tokyo and Duke University in the United States believe that oxytocin creates a “neural feedback loop” that has strengthened the bond between humans and dogs for millennia.

To test the theory, researchers put dogs in a room with their owners and documented every interaction between them, such as talking, touching and gazing.

They then measured levels of oxytocin in urine and discovered increased eye contact between dogs and humans had driven up levels of the hormone in both species.

However, when they performed the same experiments on wolves raised by humans there was no increase in oxytocin, suggesting it evolved during the domestication of dogs that began 34,000 years ago.

AP Photo/Rapid City Journal, Aaron RosenblattRecently arrived puppies adjust to their new surroundings on Thursday at Crazy Critters in Rapid City on Thursday, March 7, 2013.

Dr Evan MacLean, a senior research scientist at Duke University, said that dogs had learnt to “hijack” the bonding pathway between parents and their children.

“It’s really only in the last couple of thousand years that we have kept dogs as pets, and dogs began to be able to relate to humans in meaningful social ways,” he said.

Our relationships with dogs are very much like parent-child relationships

“They became attuned to our social cues in the way that young children are. For example, when dogs are presented with an impossible task they quickly turn to humans to see what to do, just like children do. Wolves don’t do that.

“Our relationships with dogs are very much like parent-child relationships.

“We respond to our dogs quite a bit like human children. Brain imaging studies have shown that brain networks of mothers respond in the same way to pictures of their own dog to their own children.

“One evolutionary scenario might be that dogs found a way to hijack these parenting responses and dogs over time may have taken on more childlike and juvenile characteristics to further embed themselves into our lives.”

The researchers say that the paper, published in the journal Science, shows that dogs feel like a child of the family.

AP Photo/Seth WenigA bulldog named Munch, left, and a puppy named Dominique attend a news conference at the American Kennel Club in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013.

In a second experiment, the researchers sprayed oxytocin into the noses of dogs and put them in a room with their owners and some strangers.

Female dogs responded to the treatment by increasing the amount of time that they gazed at their owners.

After 30 minutes, in further evidence of the feedback loop, oxytocin had also increased in owners of the treated dogs.

The “canine luxury resort experience” located a few minutes from Toronto’s Pearson airport is set to open for overnight, four-legged guests and daycare in the first week of March, says owner Susan Rupert.

“We’ve had a few clients say that they would like to stay there themselves,” said Ms. Rupert.

The Park9 resort is a 14,000-square-foot facility with an indoor and outdoor playground and a separate wing for cats. There are no crates — owners can choose between having their pooch sleep on a bed in a shared “lounge” or in a private room.

J.P. Moczulski for National PostUrbanDog, an upscale doggie day spa in the Distillery District in Toronto, Ont. on Friday February 20, 2015. Owner Susan Rupert will be opening a second location near Pearson Airport which will cater to longer term stays.

It will offer private play sessions, bathing and grooming, and even “one-on-one cuddle time” according to the website. The “mini-bar” options include dog chews, ice cream and special holiday meals.

Owners who are enjoying their own room service will be able to give their dog a treat through a computer-controlled system.

“It’s like Skype for dogs. Basically there’s a screen inside the room that you can sign into and video-chat with your dog personally,” said Ms. Rupert. “You can have a full conversation with your dog; you can dispense a treat for them while you’re travelling, and you can also dispense aromatherapy.”

Along with video technology, the building incorporates natural sunlight, hospital-grade ventilation systems and artificial grass.

Vancouver offers small “dog hotel” style kennels, but Ms. Rupert said Park9 will be Canada’s largest and the first with a pool.

In the U.S., Chicago and Los Angeles offer similar pooch luxury, according to Ms. Rupert, who has operated a dog fitness and spa centre, UrbanDog, in Toronto since 2003.

J.P. Moczulski for National PostUrban Dog owner Susan Rupert plays with some guests at her upscale doggie day spa in the Distillery District in Toronto, Ont. on Friday February 20, 2015.

Unlike leaving your pet at the veterinarian’s or with a friend, the Park9 staff of 25 will monitor the kennel 24 hours a day.

Prices start at $65 a night and climb to $200-a-night luxury suites. Additional services like one-on-one fetch could add up quickly for a pampered pet, costing $20 per half-hour session, while spa treatments like a shampoo start at $35. Pet owners bring their dog’s own food.

Ms. Rupert said she already has reservations booked for the most expensive suites, which include a comfy dog bed, a flat screen TV, a private webcam and treat dispenser.

Lonesome owners can check on their pets from afar by tapping into the resort’s webcam network.

“People can sign in and watch and take pictures with it,” said Ms. Rupert. “It’s peace of mind, even for people during the day. When you’re travelling it makes you feel better when you miss them and you can see they’re having fun and you don’t feel so guilty.”

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/dog-hotel-a-luxury-resort-experience-that-offers-only-the-best-amenities/feed3stdNPPhotoAssignment ID: 00062818AJ.P. Moczulski for National PostJ.P. Moczulski for National PostParty Animals: In Rio, the dogs dress up as much as the peoplehttp://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/party-animals-in-rio-the-dogs-dress-up-as-much-as-the-people
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RIO DE JANEIRO — At one Carnival street party in Rio de Janeiro, the revellers weren’t as skilled at dancing samba as they were at wagging their tails.

More than 100 festive pet owners dressed their dogs in flashy costumes of superheroes and princesses on Saturday for a parade to celebrate animal life in Brazil’s most joyful season.

“Carnival is synonymous with partying, and animals are too. They give us so much happiness,” said Raquel Santos while she petted her shy, 6-month-old Maltese named Zoe who was dressed as Snow White. “I couldn’t wait for this. Now that I see them all cute and dressed up, I want to squeeze them all.”

AP Photo/Silvia IzquierdoDogs dressed for carnival are seen during the "Blocao" dog carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Carnival goes to the dogs as pet owners take to the streets for their own party, with their four-legged friends in ornate costumes.

Several others were also dressed as the popular princess, and other canines represented Superman and Wonder Woman. An obedient bulldog stayed on top of a skateboard as his owner glided through, and a mutt wore a fruit headpiece and a colorful skirt like Carmen Miranda, the legendary samba singer and actress popular in the 1940s.

The celebration included a woman who has become an animal protection crusader in Brazil after a video of her two French bulldogs being abused gained wide attention earlier this month. A camera hidden in her living room by Ninna Mandin caught her fiancé severely beating her pets. The recording prompted Mandin to break off her engagement. On Saturday, she celebrated Carnival with her two pooches, Gucci and Victoria, who were dressed as clowns.

AP Photo/Silvia IzquierdoA dog dressed for carnival is seen during the "Blocao" dog carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015. Carnival goes to the dogs as pet owners take to the streets for their own party, with their four-legged friends in ornate costumes.

“It was hard to find the courage to go through what I did, but it was the best thing I could do. Unfortunately they suffered, but I wanted to show society that this could be happening in anyone’s house,” Mandin said. “What I want now is for them to be happy.”

The dog party is one of hundreds of street fests lighting up Rio for Carnival, which opened Friday.

We love our feather-, fur- and fin-babies to the tune of about $6.5-billion a year in Canada alone! Sure, some of that figure includes the unavoidable stuff (food, vet visits) but a fortune is dropped on beds, toys, fashion, even spa days for our stressed-out companions. But, c’mon, some of that critter furniture is ugly — cat trees, for example, are where scraps of beige broadloom go to die. We’ve found seven ways to ensure your BFBs’ (best fur babies’) digs are almost as stylin’ as yours this year.

This Coop is a Coup:Breed Retreat (above)

This hen house is crafted in Holland from weather-resistant wood and glass. Just don’t do the math on how much those designer eggs are ultimately going to cost. $11,050, ahalife.com

From furniture and product designer Maya Khaira, in bentwood birch, zebrawood, walnut or maple veneers with a waterproof finish; bowls are stainless steel. One bowl or two; $45 to $160, roxiedoggie.com

Last weekend in Saanich, B.C., a 16-day old baby was mauled by her family’s pit bull-Rottweiler mix on the same day as an elderly man was attacked by two pit bull dogs outside a Langley, B.C. dollar store. News like this is reported, but commentary-wise, dog-related public safety is virtually an orphan topic. Which is why I adopted it.

Public-safety regulation is usually linked to what is deemed a critical number of injuries or deaths. Between 1971 and 1980, for example, Ford produced three million Pintos. Due to a peculiarity in the Pinto’s structural design, its fuel tank was prone to puncture in rear-end collisions. Consequently, over Pinto’s 10 years in operation, 26 people died in fires that a better design could have prevented. Ford was forced to retire the model in the interest of public safety.

By coincidence, there are about three million pit bull type dogs in North America today, representing 6% of all breeds. But about 26 people die from pit bull type dogs in the U.S. every year (out of about 40 from all 400 breeds combined). Pit bull type dogs maul, maim, disfigure or dismember hundreds more. By no coincidence, when pit bulls were few in number — 200,00 before 1970, most clustered in marginal districts — dogbite-related fatalities in the general population were freakishly rare. In my youth, when middle-class neighbourhood dogs ran loose, and average families didn’t own fighting dogs, years went by without a single fatality. If pit bull type dogs were cars, they’d be long gone. But unlike car victims, pit bull tragedies don’t arouse public outrage.

They certainly outrage me. But in truth my engagement with the issue is mostly driven by what pit bull activism says about our culture.

Pit bulls are now the second most popular breed of dog in America (Labs happily still rule). Criminals favour them, certainly; but most now belong to naive mainstream people who believe pit bulls’ association with thuggery has given them an undeserved “bad rap.”

In reality, pit bull type dogs stubbornly remain what they have always been: fighting machines bred for impulsivity, pertinacity in attack and — thanks to their peculiar “rending” style of bite — a capacity for inflicting extraordinary damage on victims, usually other animals (pit bulls are responsible for almost 100% of domestic-animal fatalities, including cows and horses), but frequently enough, people, disproportionately children.

Given the statistics — pit bull type dogs are six times more likely to kill humans than all other breeds combined — and nothing extraordinary to distinguish them positively from other breeds, their rapid proliferation is irrational. Unless what we are witnessing is a mass projection of current social theories about people onto dogs, the animals in which people are most apt to invest their feelings and social values. Canine history supports that hypothesis.

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Until the mid-19th century, dog breeding was a casual affair. But then the fundamental reality of Empire — continuous connection between British elites and “inferior” races — nurtured a corresponding revulsion from canine mongrels. Dogs, it was felt, should reflect one’s class status. Herding dogs met farmers’ needs. The hunting nobility wanted retrieving dogs: hence the incomparable Labrador Retriever, bred by and for aristocrats. And pit bulls were invented to serve lowlifes for whom pain and bloodletting were “sport.”

Moving on in history: The humane movement had long been underway, with a focus on putting an end to animal abuse, when the politically convulsive 1970s shattered social and political consensus, producing a new culturally driven paradigm for human-canine relations. Just as imperial Britain’s obsession with caste translated into a fetish with breeding lines, the counter-culture in America, dominated by tropes of moral and cultural relativism, liberation, anti-racism and civil rights, anthropomorphized dogs into victims for whom merely humane treatment was not good enough.

This is the first time in the history of human-animal relations that a movement has formed to promote denial of a beloved breed’s well-known vices

Now, applying rubrics designed for humans, no dog breed may be considered better than any other, and even fighting dogs — though in fact line bred for stereotypical high prey drive — must be accorded the same individual rights as the law guarantees us “mongrels” (since humans mate randomly, it’s what we are in canine terms). Out of this misguided cross-species projection, and because pit bulls are the dog of choice for young black men of the underclass, the pit bull achieved totemic victim status — perceived as negatively stigmatized by the media as their racialized owners often are by law enforcement.

The novel and most disturbing aspect of this issue is the army of advocates who literally devote their lives (and some their considerable fortunes) to laundering the pit bull’s image. This is the first time in the history of human-animal relations that a movement has formed, not to promote the well-known virtues of a beloved breed, but to promote denial of a beloved breed’s well-known vices. Alas, the movement produces extraordinarily effective “Big Lie” propaganda.

These fanatic activists are far more numerous and well-organized than the small corps of ban proponents I support. Bans on fighting dogs have eliminated dogbite-related fatalities in many jurisdictions, but thanks to the pit bull advocacy movement’s relentlessly-bruited mantras (“blame bad owners,” “all in how you raise ‘em”), some of those bans have been repealed on “discrimination” grounds.

High I.Q., as history constantly reminds us, is no guarantor of common sense or civic-mindedness. The pit bull advocacy movement is vigorously championed by a number of “progressive” intellectuals, academics and journalists. John Homans, former editor of New York magazine, now with Politico, parrots pit bull advocacy bromides in his otherwise well-researched book, What’s a Dog For? Cultural gadfly Malcolm Gladwell aligns discrimination against pit bulls with the racialization of African-Americans in his book, What the Dog Saw. Journalist Tom Junod romanticizes pit bulls in Esquire Online, also adducing the disingenuous race card: “The opposition to pit bulls might not be racist. It does, however, employ racist thinking.” (This is pure anthropomorphism; such logic would make it “racist thinking” to prefer huskies over collies as sled dogs.)

These writers easily find politically correct dog industry “experts” to support their preferred theory that pit bulls raised responsibly are no riskier or more physically damaging than other breeds. I prefer the honesty of dog fighters who laugh at such wishful thinking, pit bull breeders who candidly advise owners to carry a “break stick” with them to pry open jaws, and the statements of disinterested surgeons testifying to the appalling, pit-bull specific butchery they must contend with.

Dogs with a talent for fighting generally like to fight

In the surreal world of pit bull advocacy, ethical bright lines tend to blur. Canadian author and blogger Douglas Anthony Cooper is taking pit bull activism to a grotesque new level of hutzpah, having written a book, Galunker, (originally scheduled for release this month, but delayed) about a winsome shelter pit bull, which actually peddles pit bulls to preschoolers.

Promotional material characterizes Galunker as “a children’s book to change our perception of pit bulls.” Rescued from a dogfighting operation, Galunker’s story is told in Dr. Seuss-style rhyme (“But unloved he was, and he always had been/For Galunker, though never his fault, looked real mean.”) Emotive illustrations and text combine to portray Galunker as “about as dangerous as a marshmallow.” Amongst others, this affirmation is breathtakingly false. Pit bulls that have been “rolled” — initiated into combat, like Galunker — are at particularly high risk for future violence.

Dogs are living creatures, but they are also consumer products. The utopian belief system illuminated in Galunker, which privileges the invented “right” of all dogs, whatever their baggage, to a new home over children’s right to safety is wicked, and no different, ethically speaking, than if Ford had refused to recall Pintos on the grounds that it is racialized thinking to discriminate amongst brands of cars.

Real critical thinking uncovers the truth transcending the nonsense the advocacy mill grinds out, however obscured by charming illustrations and rhyming verses: Dogs with a talent for fighting generally like to fight. When what they deem the right occasion presents itself, they will, with the same joy as greyhounds run and bloodhounds track, display the inherited motor pattern that gives them pleasure in performance.

The consequence of pit bull advocacy’s willed denialism of this genetic reality can be measured, first in the capitulation of municipal and provincial governments to activist intimidation, and then in the blood that flows in a steadily widening pool from the growing mass of innocent animals and people who weekly, daily, hourly fall victim to the canine killers in our midst.

National Post

]]>http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/barbara-kay-what-pit-bull-activism-says-about-our-culture/feed0stdpit_bullsEvery dog has its day: An open letter to Sondra Gotlieb from, well …http://news.nationalpost.com/life/every-dog-has-its-day-an-open-letter-to-sondra-gotlieb-from-well
http://news.nationalpost.com/life/every-dog-has-its-day-an-open-letter-to-sondra-gotlieb-from-well#commentsMon, 08 Dec 2014 20:38:44 +0000http://news.nationalpost.com/?p=552469

We’ve been together 13 years and I don’t know if I can stand it anymore. Me, a purebred orange poodle from a family my breeder can trace back to Justinian in the time of Constantinople. My owner, born in Winnipeg, whose own mother was born in Winnipeg and that’s as far back she can trace her ancestry. How shaming for me.

I can accept that my owner lacks the acceptable bloodlines. But I am snobbish when it comes to bones. The ill-born one who thinks she owns me invited eight people to dinner the other night and served a so-so osso bucco. Some of her guests even left marrow in the bones. If it wasn’t for that old guy she hangs around with, I would have got nothing. He actually had to tell her to give me a bone.

What do I have in life? I get a corner of her bed to lie in but not enough of all that chicken they eat. I am fond of chicken. I could eat a whole one every day, but when I was young and trembly, a sadistic vet told them to give me only dry dog food. When I’m desperate I’ll munch on the crunchiest, but believe me chicken is better. Of course, I will never reach my final goal — an actual chicken bone.

I suppose what I love the best are rib roast bones, but despite my pleas they only have roast beef three times a year. They wait for their grandchildren to come for dinner. Stingy Manitobans, too cheap to order a rib roast beef for just for themselves and me.

Last night, she served Allan a cup of soup. The stupid guy, he went to the front door, which I warned him against by doing my own specialty act: hysterical and uncontrollable barking, so beloved by the neighbours.

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While he had conversation with someone who wanted to clean his drains, I ran to the kitchen and nosed into Allan’s cup of soup and left nothing for him. By now he should know enough not to let any food lying about because I’m there before one can say Paxy.

I have this family organized. I sleep on my mistress’s clothes, I go nuts when she walks in from some party and whine until she gives me a treat from the dog store. The grandkids are coming this year around Christmas and they know I have to have the best part of the turkey (dark meat, with stuffing) as soon as they pass the threshold. This is a pretty good time for me, but her osso bucco is better than Thanksgiving or Christmas. No dog can ask for anything better than a pot full of marrow bones.

I do get sick of hearing about her friends’ perfect dogs, who never climb on the sofa, never beg, never whine, never bark and never jump.

My mistress hasn’t given me a treat in three days, and I’ve been stuck in the house a lot. It’s time to get even. Revenge is all.

One pet owner made a promise when her toy poodle fell ill and its vision started to dim. If her dog lived, she would help it overcome any disabilities and give a paw up to other pooches in the process.

Silvie Bordeaux of Los Angeles kept that vow after Muffin survived a cancer scare but lost his sight. She created Muffin’s Halo Guide for Blind Dogs, a device that encircles a dog’s head and prevents blind pets from running into walls and furniture.

“If the halo hits the wall first, it will slow them down,” said Dr. Christin Fahrer from Eye Care for Animals in Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles. That will minimize trauma to the face, the veterinarian said.

The halo is made of lightweight copper tubing that attaches to cloth wings and a harness fitted around the neck and chest. Other products do similar work, such as the infamous cone, known for its use after surgery to protect wounds or stitches, and vests and headbands that also have a piece encircling the head to deter collisions.

‘It’s like putting an action-hero suit on a little boy’

They are among a multitude of products peddled to pet owners confronting canine old age, disabilities and injuries. Companies make walkers and lifts or one-of-a-kind mobility equipment for dogs with joints that ache or no longer work. Dog stairs allow older pets to get on beds or sofas and ramps help them into the car. But some owners improvise, making slings, homemade wheelchairs or tripod lifts so they can hoist dogs with ailing hips or missing limbs up stairs or over obstacles.

Whether ready-made or owner-constructed, the products can prevent old or hobbled dogs from being turned into shelters, where euthanasia is likely a given. Bordeaux had shelter dogs in mind when launching her line of halos, thinking their chances of adoption would improve if they used the product.

“It might help shelter pets more than average pets in some ways because their environment is constantly in flux,” said Fahrer, the veterinarian.

But she said blind dogs don’t think about their lack of sight — they just adapt and move on.

“We are the ones who struggle with the concept of our pets being blind,” Fahrer said. “We struggle with what it would be like for us. Our pets don’t drive or read, but we use our vision every moment of every day. It’s a different world for them.”

Bordeaux set up a non-profit to get her halos to blind dogs in shelters and rescues. The devices range from $69.95 to $129.95, and come in different designs, such as angel’s wings, butterflies and football uniforms.

“They can eat and sleep and play and run with it on,” Bordeaux said. “It’s like their superpowers.”

When a blind dog wears a halo, it holds its head higher, its gait changes and its spirits soar, said Los Angeles dog trainer Bronwyne Mirkovich, who volunteers for the American Maltese Association Rescue.

When you put the device on her dog named Max, “it’s like putting an action-hero suit on a little boy,” Mirkovich said. “It’s like he’s bumping with a shield or cane, he’s super confident.”

Man’s best friend is taking a bite out of many people’s housing budgets.

Pet security deposits have hit the hundreds of dollars and are getting steeper. Now, in places across the United States, a monthly rental payment ranging from $10 to $50 is quickly becoming the norm. Apartment managers nationwide say they require some safety net against pet damage, while others won’t allow animals at all. (The Ontario Condominium Act does not allow for rents or fines to be charged.)

The rents and deposits pay for dog-poop picker-uppers, cleaning services and more, but some managers say they charge because they can. (In Ontario, if a condo board has no choice but to hire someone to clean up after a pet, it may add the cost to a unit’s common expenses.) Many U.S. residents decry the move, arguing they are being bilked to keep their cats and canines.

“One out of 50 people will say, ‘I can’t believe you charge pet rent,’ but most accept it,” says Stacy Leighty, who manages more than 400 properties in Salem, Ore. She added the monthly fee after her financial advisor said it would boost revenue, and noted that it is becoming more widespread.

With a third of the U.S.’s population — 103 million people — living in apartments, according to the National Apartment Association, many pet owners face extra costs. Fred Lopez, of Los Angeles isn’t happy about it.

“They are exploiting the fact that more and more people have pets,” he says. “First they ask for a deposit, then rent. How much more are they going to try and squeeze out of us?”

Mr. Lopez, his girlfriend and their Pomeranian recently moved from an apartment where the manager charged $50 a month in pet rent. Mr. Lopez, 38, called the cost “ludicrous and another way to gouge people for money.”

Two years ago, pet rents weren’t even on the radar, says Tammy Kotula, a spokeswoman for Apartments.com, the Chicago-based online listing subscription service that tracks owners and renters.

This year, 78% of renters who worked with the company and voluntarily filled out questionnaires said they pay a pet deposit, Ms. Kotula says. Of those, 29% also pay monthly pet rent. That’s up from 63% who pay pet deposits last year — 20% of whom also reported paying rent for their animal.

FotoliaPuppies are known to have accidents, and if it happens in a condo hallway, a pet rent fee would go toward the cost associated with cleaning the carpet.

Apartment managers in several states talked about how they handle pet payments:

Oregon In Ms. Leighty’s buildings in Salem, dogs cost $20 a month and require a $500 dog deposit, while cats cost $10 monthly and need a $400 deposit.
Her 400 properties started taking dogs last year. Though she was advised to charge pet rents to bring in more money, the additional pet deposit is used to cover damage caused by animals. “We are a higher-end luxury complex, and we want people to feel at home here, and having a pet is a large part of making people feel at home,” Ms. Leighty says.

New York City Mitchell Gelberg, managing director of Rose Associates, said pet policies in the 25,000 units he handles in New York City vary by property.

They have restrictions on dog size and ban aggressive breeds but do not charge pet rents, Mr. Gelberg says.

Most leases require dogs be leashed at all times, and some make people use service elevators with their pets.

Minnesota Sarah Fuller, a property manager in Maple Grove, Minn., oversees 600 units in 17 buildings, but just two complexes allow pets. Renters pay $40 per dog per month and deposits between $400 and $600.

Pet owners must leash and pick up after their pooches, which are restricted on size and breed.

Florida Bonnie Smetzer of JMG Realty manages 10,000 apartments in 35 communities, some of which do not allow pets. In those that do, pet rents range from $10 to $20 and help pay for expenses related to the animals, Ms. Smetzer says.

She pointed to pet walkways, parks, waste bags and the cost to hire workers to pick up after animals and spray for fleas.

“We try to balance people who love pets with the people who don’t,” Ms. Smetzer says.

A Saskatoon woman and her pet raccoon have fled the city to escape municipal bylaws that outlaw ownership of the mischievous, bandit-faced animals.

Wendy Hook, who moved to Saskatoon with her husband this spring, said she was trying to be a law-abiding citizen when she went to City Hall last week to get an exotic pet license for her beloved raccoon, Dennis. When she was told it was illegal to keep Dennis in her house, she “panicked” and moved in with friends outside city limits to avoid the possibility of bylaw enforcement officers taking her pet away.

“I’m willing to stay away with Dennis as long as I have to, to hopefully get the city to turn around on this. If they won’t, we really don’t have any other option but to move,” Hook said Thursday from her City Park apartment, where she had brought Dennis for a visit.

Provincial legislation allows Saskatchewan residents to keep raccoons as pets, but raccoon ownership is forbidden within Saskatoon city limits because the ring-tailed mammals are classified as “prohibited” under the municipal animal control bylaw.

Hook said she hopes the city makes an exception for Dennis and is exploring the possibility of getting him involved in an educational program, which she believes could make him eligible for a special permit.

RICHARD MARJAN/STARPHOENIXWendy and Ron Hook have a raccoon named Dennis that the City of Saskatoon says they are not allowed to keep according to bylaws on October 16 in Saskatoon. Videographer Sean Trembath with Dennis.

If the city won’t budge, Hook said she and her husband are prepared to abandon city life to remain united with their 30-pound raccoon, who could live for up to 20 years.

“We would do whatever we needed to do to make life easier for Dennis,” she said.

Dennis came into Hook’s life 17 months ago, when she and her husband were living in southeastern Saskatchewan. Her landlord at the time had discovered two baby raccoons on the floor of her barn, and asked Hook if she wanted them.

“Well, of course I did,” Hook recalled.

One of the raccoons died within a few hours, but Dennis “just kept growing and growing and growing,” she said.

It was like having a baby — Dennis needed to be fed with an eye dropper every couple of hours for the first few months, and Hook eventually weaned him onto a baby bottle. As he grew older, she trained him to use a litter box and respond to his name.

“He is like nothing we’ve ever had,” Hook said. “He’s a little bit of canine behaviour, a little bit of feline. He’s just as happy to have a chew toy as he is a feather.”

A self-professed animal lover who’s previously had dogs, cats, gerbils, rats and snakes, Hook said Dennis has been more like a companion than any of her previous pets.

“He will sit on my lap and I will talk to him, and I talk to him a lot. I’ve never had an animal that paid attention. He will make eye contact and he will keep it,” she said. “When either one of us are sick and in bed, he will come and he will just lay with us and cuddle. It’s like he knows when we’re not feeling well or when you’re sad or you’re frustrated. He’ll come and give you a little lick.”

RICHARD MARJAN/STARPHOENIXWendy and Ron Hook have a raccoon named Dennis that the City of Saskatoon says they are not allowed to keep according to bylaws on October 16 in Saskatoon. Wendy Hooks feeds Dennis.

Dennis sleeps on Hook’s bed, eats from her hands and likes pulling items out of her pockets. He eats dry dog food, wears a collar and likes going for walks, though he often shuffles between Hook’s feet. She said Dennis will nip affectionately when he’s hungry or tired, but is never aggressive.

“He’s so not what you would expect,” she said. “Most people imagine a snarling little ball of fur that will wreck your house in a heartbeat, whereas this little guy, the last place that we lived we got 100 per cent of our damage deposit back. He’s awesome.”

Hook said Dennis is fully vaccinated and better behaved than many pets she’s encountered. She also said he’s a big hit with almost everyone who meets him.

“Dennis has stopped traffic. People have literally stopped their cars and taken pictures,” she said with a laugh.

RICHARD MARJAN/STARPHOENIXWendy and Ron Hook have a raccoon named Dennis that the City of Saskatoon says they are not allowed to keep according to bylaws on October 16 in Saskatoon. Reporter Andrea Hill gets some racoon loving.

John Moran, manager of the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park and Zoo, said if bylaw enforcement officers spot an illegal pet or receive complaints about one, the owner could be required to surrender it to an animal control agency. He added that raccoons can transmit diseases and parasites to humans and that, quite frankly, “wild animals don’t make good pets.”

Hook adamantly disagrees.

“The thrill hasn’t worn off for me yet. Every day that we get up, we’re still amazed that we have a raccoon, we have a raccoon for a pet,” she said. “I’ve never had such an affectionate pet before.”

Toronto Police shot and killed a pit bull on Saturday just after 4 p.m. when it attacked a shih tzu and held the small dog down with a “locked-jaw grip,” police said.

Police received a call for an “unknown trouble” at a Toronto Community Housing Corp. home at Winchester Street and Rose Avenue in Cabbagetown, where they saw bystanders “screaming and yelling” while trying to pry the pit bull away from the shih tzu.

“The policeman was hitting the dog so hard with his baton that it flung out of his hands but the pit bull would not let go,” said Samantha Thornton, a resident in the area. She said the owner of the shih tzu was in “hysterics.”

According to Ms. Thornton, police shot the dog twice in the leg and when it still didn’t release the shih tzu, they shot it in the head.

“Due to the safety and security of the Shih Tzu, the public, and the other officers involved, the officer made the decision to put down the pit bull,” said Const. Jenniferjit Siduh.

Ms. Thornton said the shih tzu is alive and recovering from the attack.

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Craig Ashbourne, a spokesperson for TCHC, said the pit bull did not belong do a TCHC tenant.

Residents in the neighbourhood told the National Post that pit bulls were bred in the building. Pit bull breeding has been illegal since the 2005 Dog Owner’s Liability Act and owners can face a $10,000 fine and six months jail time for noncompliance.

The law permits pit bulls born before 2005, provided they wore muzzles and had a maximum leash length of 1.8 meters.

RACHEL SURMAN/NATIONAL POSTThe corner of Winchester Street and Rose Avenue in the Jamestown area of Toronto on Friday, September 26, 2014.

“I’ve seen other pit bulls in the area and I’ve seen a pit bull puppy that looks just like the one that was shot,” said Ms. Thornton, who is raising her children in the neighbourhood.

Another area resident also reported seeing a pit bull puppy outside of the TCHC home.

Sammy Graja, who lives in the house, confirmed there are also female pit bulls in the area.

“Yes they are around, but they are OK though. They hang around the building from time to time and they have their own owners,” said Mr. Graja.

“The dog that was shot was actually a really friendly dog,” he added.

Other residents in the area didn’t feel as secure.

“The situation in the neighbourhood is out of control,” said one. “I feel threatened.”

Tammy Robbinson, spokesperson for Toronto Animal Services, said if a pit bull was born after the legislation was passed, the dog must leave Ontario.

“The person can surrender the dog to us and we then assess and try to send it to a rescue group outside of the province,” Ms. Robbinson said.

Cats can suffer from stress because their owners treat them like dogs, according to a leading U.K. animal behaviourist.

Many owners expect their cat to be obedient, enjoy being petted and be relaxed about living with other cats — in effect seeing their cat as “a less demanding dog,” said Dr. John Bradshaw, the director of the Anthrozoology Institute at Bristol University.

They fail to realize that this can have a detrimental effect on a cat’s well being, or to understand that lavishing their pet with affection will not necessarily make it feel happier.

‘Unlike dogs, the cat is still halfway between a domestic and a wild animal’

“If cat owners understood their pets better, they’d recognize the demands we’re putting on them and how that manifests itself in their physical and mental health,” said Bradshaw.

“Unlike dogs, the cat is still halfway between a domestic and a wild animal, and it’s not enjoying 21st century living.

“People assume cats are going to be like a less demanding dog. They are equally interesting, in my opinion, and equally companionable, but they have their own way of doing things.

“Dogs were sociable before they were domesticated. With cats, all we wanted was for them to keep our houses and farms and food stores free of rats and mice, and they got on with that. It’s only in the last few decades that we have wanted them to be something else.”

Bradshaw said the chief cause of stress was proximity to other cats. “There are two aspects: people get more than one cat and expect them to get on with each other, and letting cats outdoors in a neighbourhood with lots of other cats. But cats are not very good at getting on with other cats. You might get on with your next door neighbour, but cats are not like humans. When people move house they have lots to think about, and perhaps they don’t make quite enough allowance for the cat.

‘Fighting for who sleeps on the owner’s bed is a typical thing’

“And people want to have two or three cats rather than one, but just because two cats are owned by the same person it doesn’t mean they are going to get on.”

For a BBC TV series, Cats, to be shown next month, Bradshaw and his team installed infra-red cameras in homes and observed cats’ nighttime activity. Owners who believed their cats got on with each other found that the reality was different.

“Fighting for who sleeps on the owner’s bed is a typical thing. The cameras caught the fight that goes on for the warmest spot on the duvet,” Bradshaw said.

“Cats who don’t get on don’t have to be hissing at each other. They can simply carve the house up, and live in the same building but not in the same space.”

‘Most cats don’t find human attention rewarding in its own right’

Bradshaw also warned that dermatitis and cystitis, two common cat ailments, can be brought on by living in just such a stressful environment.

He added that owners should not expect the same level of affection they receive from dogs. “Cats have other things on their mind.

They are busy thinking about the neighbour’s cat, or looking out of the window to see what birds are out there. The truth is that cats in general do love their owners, but they have their own lives.”

However, Bradshaw says cats can, with a generous provision of treats, be trained to some extent. In a separate interview with Radio Times, he said: “Most cats don’t find human attention rewarding in its own right, so you can’t rely on affection and approval to train a cat.”